The Trouée d’Arenberg is one of the most famous stretches of road in all of professional cycling. It’s also one of the oldest; the cobblestones that make up the two-kilometre stretch of road were laid over a century ago, and due to Arenberg’s popularity, the stones themselves have been known to be liberated by souvenir hunters from time to time.

That appeared to be the case this year, when cobblestones went missing on more than one cobblestone sector, potentially creating a major safety risk, as reported on by De Telegraaf.

“Thieves, we are dealing with them more and more. On this section [Arenberg], ‘Het Bos van Wallers’, and also the ‘Carrefour de l’Arbre’ sector, we have a lot of extra work,” said Paris-Roubaix race director Thierry Gouvenou.

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“Those are mythical sections, and people steal cobblestones there to take as souvenirs. They just don’t realise that by doing so, they cause large and deep holes in the path.

“It is incomprehensible that they don’t think about the consequences that could have for the race. That is bound to cause crashes in the women’s and men’s races on Sunday. What those people are doing can be life-threatening.”

What we saw in Arenberg on Thursday

In a handful of places, the five-star forest of the Arenberg section appears to have been repaired, and in one place near the beginning of the sector, a replacement stone has been installed, with ‘April’ and ‘10.4.26’ written on the face in black marker pen, perhaps referencing the repair date.

The replacement stone, which is roughly twice the size of most of the cobblestones that feature in the section, also has a circular hole in it, though we don’t know the reason for this.

In a couple of other places, holes seem to have been filled, but not with replacement stones. One we spotted had been filled with some sort of sandy gravel, another with jagged coal spoil.

In general, however, the Arenberg sector appeared to be in good health; the disturbed sections were few and far between.

Paris-Roubaix has been crossing the Arenberg trench since 1968, and a healthy amount of work goes into maintaining these legendary sectors each spring.

The Les Amis de Paris Roubaix (Friends of Paris-Roubaix) group help to maintain all the cobbled sectors throughout the year, carrying out repairs and fighting for the preservation of these ancient tracks. Herds of goats are even brought into Arenberg in the weeks leading up to the race, with the animals eating the grass that grows between the stones.

Race organisers ASO are ultimately responsible for the state of the cobbled sectors come race day, and are set to be on high alert on Sunday morning for any more last-minute repairs that need to be made.

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